Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is yet to kick-start World Bank’s funded Punjab Green Development Project, which was approved in 2018 to foster green development in the province and address serious environmental issues including smog.
Sources in EPD claimed that World Bank committed a grant of US$200million for this project and the Punjab government has to arrange US$73million from its own resources.
Sources said World Bank approved the five years long project on May 25, 2018, which was announced as the starting date and the project has to be completed in May 2023.
For this project, EPD had established Strategic Planning and Implementation Unit (SP&IU) to complete all Disbursement Links Indicators (DLIs).
Sources claimed that World Bank had released US$ 23.75million to the Punjab government while the rest of the amount has to be released after completion of various DLIs.
Sources said the programme from the start hit a major controversy regarding the appointment of its Project Director Waqar-ud-Din Butt as several complaints were filed in NAB.
